Revelation Besides Quran

In the name of Allah most gracious most mercifulAssalaamu alaykum warahmatuallahi wabarakatahu

Revelation Besides the Qur’an

The Qur’an is the word of God which was revealed to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and preserved both verbally and in writing by his Companions. Apart from the Qur’an, whatever the Prophet uttered or did was also preserved by the Companions. Thus the Sunnah includes the sayings ofthe Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) known commonly as hadiths (i.e., sayings), his practices, and actions which gained his approval. Boththe Qur’an and the Sunnah fall under a common title wahy (revelation or inspiration); the difference between the two is that the Qur’an is arevelation which is recited (matluw) in the formal prayer (salah) while the Sunnah is not recited in the formal prayers. The importance of the Sunnah asthe second source of Islam is covered in Chapter 2.

First of all, we will establish that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) not only received the verses of the Qur’an from God, but he alsoreceived other revelation from time to time which is now preserved in the form of hadiths. The following examples show how the Qur’an itself refers tothis revelation:

1. God Almighty commanded the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to face the Ka`bah in Makkah in his daily prayers instead of Jerusalem:

[We see the turning of thy face to the heavens: now shall We turn thee to a Qiblah that shall please thee. Turn then thy face in the direction of theSacred Mosque; wherever ye are, turn your faces in that direction.] (Al-Baqarah 2:144)

But why was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) facing Jerusalem before that? The preceding verse shows that God Himself had appointedJerusalem as the initial qiblah for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):

[And we appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used, only to test those who followed the Messenger from those who would turn on their heels (from theFaith).] (Al-Baqarah 2:143)

The appointment of the previous qiblah is referred to as being in the past. But there is no verse in the Qur’an which commands the Prophet (peace andblessings be upon him) to face Jerusalem at the beginning of his mission! Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) must have receivedthis guidance from God in a form other than the Qur’an. As we have said above, this alternative revelation is preserved in the Sunnah.

2. In Surat At-Tahrim, a certain incident is cited:

[When the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives, and she then divulged it, and God made it known to him, made known (to her) partthereof and passed over part, she said, “Who told you this?” He said, “He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted (with all things).”] (At-Tahrim66:3)

We must consider carefully the phrases “God made it known to him” and “He told me Who knows and is well-acquainted.” The question is, how did God makeit known to him and tell him? Certainly not via the Qur’an, since there is no mention of it anywhere else in the Book of God. Therefore, the Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) must have been told via revelation from God which is not part of the Qur’an.

3. In Surat Al-Hashr, a reference is made to the expedition against the rebellious Jewish tribe of Banu An-Nadir, during which the Muslims cut downsome palm trees and left others alone.

[Whether ye (O Muslims) cut down the tender palm trees or ye left them standing on their roots, it was by leave of God, and in order that He mightcover the rebellious transgressors with shame.] (Al-Hashr 59:5)

Here, their action is attributed to the “leave of God” given to them. Nowhere in the Qur’an is such permission found. Hence God guided the Prophet(peace and blessings be upon him) in this matter but not via the Qur’an.

4.According to Surat Al-Qiyamah, verses 17–18, God took it upon Himself to collect the Qur’an. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) directedthe scribes of the Qur’an to arrange its surahs in the order found today; this is not the order in which they were revealed. Therefore, since this wasGod’s responsibility, it shows that He guided the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with respect to the order of the surahs.

These are just a few examples out of many which leave no doubt that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to receive revelation fromGod either directly or through the medium of the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel). A part of this revelation was preserved word for word under the title of theQur’an. All other revelation was embodied either in the Prophet’s sayings or in his practices, which were carefully preserved by the Companions as theSunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Various Purposes Served by the Sunnah

The Mother of the Believers `A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) was once asked, “What was the character of the Prophet?” She replied, “Hischaracter was nothing but the Qur’an.” Thus the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was an embodiment of the Qur’an itself: Whatever he practicedor said, i.e., the Sunnah, is related to the guidance of the Qur’an. Let us explore the role of the Sunnah in relation to the Qur’an.

1. The Sunnah explains Qur’anic injunctions in detail.

a. God says in Surat Al-Baqarah 2:43 [Establish prayer and pay zakah]; and many similar verses also exist. All issues related to the prayer, such asthe required number of daily prayers, the number of prayer rak`ahs and the recitation in each prayer, as well as how to perform the prayer frombeginning to end, are explained by the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Pray as you have seen me pray” (Al-Bukhari).

b. Similarly, all issues related to the poor due (zakah), such as the minimum amount on which zakah becomes payable, the percentage paid, thekinds of wealth, goods, and animals on which zakah is obligatory, etc., are clearly expounded by the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be uponhim).

c. Again, a detailed picture of fasting and Hajj can only be seen in the Sunnah, for the Qur’an has touched upon both subjects briefly.

d. Almighty God says in Surat Al-Ma’idah:

[As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hand—a punishment from God by way of example for their crime. And God is exalted in Power, Wise.](Al-Ma’idah 5:38)

The Sunnah explains the minimum of stolen goods for which a thief deserves this punishment, and the manner in which the hand should be cut off.

e. To reject the Sunnah, as some misguided “Muslims” advocate, will render the whole Qur’an open to a hotchpotch of interpretations inspired by theindividuals’ whims and desires, which often come from the devil. For example, someone who does not accept the practical demonstration of formalprayer given by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) will make a mockery of salah by doing it in a way suitable to his wishes. But how can aMuslim worship God, if he does not know the way in which God wants to be worshiped?

2. The Sunnah can establish a specific meaning when a number of meanings are possible.

a. God Almighty says:

[It is those who believe and confuse not their beliefs with zhulm that are in security, and they are on (right) guidance.] (Surat Al-An`am 6:82)

Imam Al-Bukhari relates that some of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took the word zhulm in its general meaning, “todo injustice, to do wrong, to sin.” So they were troubled and said, “Which of us has not done wrong?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)relieved them of this worry by explaining that zhulm here means “to commit shirk” (to associate partners with God in worship or belief or both; idolworship; polytheism), as in Surat Luqman:

[Those who hoard gold and silver and spend it not in the Way of God,announce unto them a most grievous penalty. On the day when it will (all) beheated in the fire of hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads,their flanks, and their backs.] (At-Tawbah 9:34)

The Arabic word kanz means a hoard, big or small. So this verse seemingly dooms a person who hoards any amount and does not spend it in the way ofGod. With this meaning in mind, `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) questioned the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about this verse,to which he replied that once the poor tax (zakah) which is due on the hoarded amount is paid, it is no longer considered as kanz (reported by IbnMajah).

3. The sayings of the Prophet explain some historical events in detail since they are mentioned only briefly in the Qur’an.

a. God says in Surat Al-Anfal:

[Behold! God promised you one of the two (enemy) parties, that it should be yours; ye wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but God intended tojustify the Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the unbelievers.] (Al-Anfal 8:7)

Which two parties are meant? Which of them is unarmed? From books of Hadith we learn the relevant details about the Battle of Badr, which is theincident referred to in the above verses.

b. In Surat At-Tawbah, we read:

[(God turned in mercy) to the three who were left behind.] (At-Tawbah 9: 118)

Who were these three people, and why did they remain behind? Again, the books of Hadith explain this.

c. Surat `Abasa begins with these words:

[He frowned and turned away, because there came to him the blind man.] (`Abasa 80:1–2)

Who frowned and turned away, and why? Who was the blind man? The details are furnished by the books of Hadith.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) explained that the Muslim child of a disbeliever, the non-Muslim child of a Muslim, and the murdererof his/her own father cannot inherit.

b. The Qur’an declares the flesh of a dead animal and blood as prohibited (Al-Ma’idah 5:3). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) exemptedfish and locusts from the term dead flesh and the liver and spleen from blood.

5. The Sunnah can deduce a similar injunction in an analogous case.

a. In Surat An-Nisaa’, God says:

[Prohibited to you are ... two sisters in wedlock at one and the same time.] (An-Nisaa’ 4:23)

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) declared that to marry a woman as well as her aunt in the same wedlock is also prohibited.

b. Alcohol is declared unlawful by Almighty God (Al-Ma’idah 5:93). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) extended the prohibition toanything which is intoxicating in large doses, even if it is taken in a small quantity.

6. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave additional injunctions in a number of issues.

One of the many duties of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was to tell the believers what is lawful (halal) and what is unlawful(haram) (Al-A`raf 7:157). For example, he prohibited the flesh of donkeys,dogs, beasts with canine teeth, and birds of prey. He also made gold andsilk haram for Muslim men, but halal for Muslim women.